This invention relates to a crown pad particularly useful with a head-protective helmet and also relates to a head-protective helmet including such crown pad.
Numerous head-protective helmets are known to the prior art. Certain head-protective helmets include a plurality of flexible head straps, sometimes referred to in the art as a web or cradle of head straps, mounted interiorly of the helmet for engaging the head of a wearer of the helmet. Such head-protective helmets include a fireman's head-protective helmet and the present invention will be disclosed in the context of a fireman's head-protective helmet although it will be understood that the present invention is not so limited and is applicable to other head-protective helmets including a plurality of interior head straps which engage the head of the wearer of the helmet.
A fireman's head-protective helmet known to the art, typically includes an outer shell and a cradle or web of flexible head straps provided in the interior of the shell which engage and generally conform to the head of a wearer of the helmet. A head-protective helmet, e.g., a fireman's head-protective helmet is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,044,016, Christopher E. Coombs inventor, patented Sep. 3, 1991, and assigned to Cairns & Brother, Inc. of Clifton, N.J.; this patent is incorporated herein by reference as if fully reproduced herein. The head-protective helmet 10, FIG. 2, includes a hard outer shell 12 and an inner impact cap or attenuation liner assembly indicated generally as 14. A cradle 28 of a plurality of flexible web straps 30 resides interiorly of the helmet particularly interiorly of the attenuation liner assembly 14. Each strap 30 is formed of a strong flexible webbing, such as Nylon, stitched together at the central apex of the cradle 28, and proceeds from the apex to the rim 42 of the foam liner 26 at a notch formed in the rim 42. Each strap 30 wraps around the rim 42 and proceeds upwardly along the outer surface of the foam liner 26, is wrapped around a tube member 44 inset in a groove 46 formed in the outer surface of the liner 26 and then proceeds back around the lower rim 42 of the foam liner 26 to approach the apex as a free end with a loop 48. The loops 48 of the free ends of the straps 30 are collected, or interconnected, by draw string 50 knotted to allow adjustment of the cradle 28 to suit the individual head of a wearer of the helmet.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,517,691, patented May 21, 1996, Bruce H. Blake inventor, assigned to Lion Apparel, Inc., also discloses a head-protective helmet; this patent is incorporated herein by reference as if fully reproduced herein. This patent discloses a head-protective helmet, namely, a fire helmet 10 including an outer shell 20 and an impact attenuation system 30 including an impact cap 32 and a suspension system 40 including a plurality of flexible head straps 42-44 and an adjustable head band assembly 50. The outer ends of the flexible head straps 42-44 are mounted to the inner impact cap 32, as shown in FIG. 3, by a rib 46 residing in a recess 48. The flexible head strap 42-44 includes central head strap portions and as shown in FIG. 4, a circular crown pad 45 is associated with the flexible head straps 42-44 and is positioned at the central apex portion, or point of intersection, of the central head strap portions of the head straps 42-44. The circular crown pad 45 includes pairs of diametrically opposed slits through which the central head strap portions of the head straps 42-44 pass. For example, head strap 42 passes through a pair of diametrically opposed slits 45a and 45b.
While the above-noted structures included in the patents incorporated herein by reference have worked reasonably well in interconnecting the inner portion of a cradle or plurality of head straps residing in the interior of a head-protective helmet, it is believed that there exists a need in the art for a new and improved crown pad which is flexible so as to conform to the crown of the head of a wearer of the helmet into which the crown pad is incorporated. Still further, there appears to exist a need in the art for a crown pad which also absorbs or attenuates at least some of the energy or force directed to the head of a wearer of the helmet into which the crown pad is incorporated upon an object striking the helmet and forcing the helmet, and therefore the cradle or web of head straps downwardly against the head of the wearer of the helmet. There also appears to exist a need in the art for a head-protective helmet including a crown pad having the aforementioned features.